Publishers are struggling to attract more readers, increase time on site, keep readers engaged. They are confronted with declining/falling revenue numbers. Many newspapers continue to lose print subscribers and getting readers to pay for content continues to be an issue. Online publishers are now looking for ways to connect with new audiences, often millennials — and find out that it’s harder than ever. Social media creates both challenges and opportunities for publishers in this case.
Looking at social media usage since 2005 up, we see that 65% of adults now use social networking sites. To reach this audience, you need to be where they spend most of their time, on social media. At the same time referral traffic from social media to news sites is high – more than 30% of traffic originates from social media. Given these factors, we believe that social media and traditional reporting go hand in hand.
Social media delivers the following benefits to publishers:
1. Crowd-checking
Journalists are relying on social for more crowd-checking, but even though they are doing this more, half of the journalists questioned for this survey by ING stated that in most of the cases they did fact-check themselves whether “news” reported via on social was based on truth. Anyone with a smartphone is a citizen journalist, which helps create new and abundant sources that can be leveraged by traditional news media.
2. Complete Stories
People spend a lot of time on social media, and look for the crowd’s take on news stories to get the complete picture. Why not combine all the relevant social media content with your editorial content and provide your readers with the best, most complete experience on your site?
3. Greater engagement & more revenue opportunities
The more complete the story, the greater the engagement. Readers spend more time on your site, and read more pages, when articles are complemented by relevant social content. This greater engagement provides more opportunities to monetize these audiences giving you the best of both worlds. You have the social experience on your site while making money.
The Role of Social Media Curation in the Newsroom
With Crowdynews’ social media curation platform you’ll be able to provide a complete, well-balanced story for your readers and keep readers coming back (and consuming) more content on your site. Save time and money finding and collecting relevant content and let us do the work for you. Most importantly, you’re in control of what’s published at any time, protecting your brand’s value of course.
Do social media spell the end of journalism? No, we don’t think so. Social media doesn’t substitute for your editorial content; it complements it. We aim to use social media to make your website the ultimate content hub. Get the broader perspective with access to multiple social feeds to find and curate content for your readers to engage with.
Curious how Social Media Curation can help your organization reach its goals?
Contact us today for a free consultation!